who we are

Kevin James Murphy is the founder and creative director of Bridge City Theatre.

A graduate from Chaminade HS in Mineola, NY, Kevin was the runner up for Humorous Interpretation of a Play at the National Forensics League Championship in 1991.  He went on to earn his BFA in acting from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his MFA in acting from The Pennsylvania State University.  He has been a professional actor for over 30 years, having appeared on stage in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Portland.  Among them: The Real Inspector Hound, The Illusion, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream,  As You Like It, Tape, This is How it Goes, The Playboy of the Western World,  Translations, Tape, and Doubt . He has also done films and television shows such as The Librarians, Discovery ID: The Wonderland Murders, Zilla and Zoey, O Negative, Getting Out, and several local and national commercials.  He has been teaching for 20 years, beginning as a university instructor before creating after-school acting programs, youth productions, and writing original shows designed specifically for young performers. He was the founder and Artistic Director of Room6 Theatre in Philadelphia and the Groundless Shakespeare Company in Los Angeles.  For the past ten years Kevin has been teaching at the elementary and middle school levels and will be retiring in June of 2026.

This blend of conservatory theatre training with a foundation in children's education gives Kevin's programs a unique balance of creativity, structure, imagination, guidance, and heart. 

Kevin is also a playwright, having penned Freya's Unusual Wedding and Perseus Pursues Medusa for school productions.  His latest musical, The Village of Oz, will be available for school licensing on this website on January 5, 2026.   

Our Traveling Library productions are interactive explorations of science, history, art, math, and myth.  In the summer of 2026, we are proud to present Detective Diggs and the Case of the Bone Bandit.    

In our After School Programs, we build community through collaboration. Students learn how to trust their instincts, take creative risks, and bring characters to life with joy and authenticity.  This is a safe space where each child is encouraged to embrace and celebrate that which makes them unique.  In doing so, they revere each others' differences, creating a blissful, responsible community which they will hold for a lifetime. 

Thank you for being here and for supporting a program that believes:

THEATRE BUILDS CHARACTER--BOTH ON AND OFFSTAGE